This move feels very connected to the reasoning for not re-signing Curtis Lofton. I wonder how long this move has been in the works. It seems reasonable that Dimitroff may have been targeting Samuel for a while.

See ya. Good move for Atlanta but I'm not sure there are a lot of Philly fans that mind seeing him go. A corner like Boykin could definitely get a look in the draft but I'm not sure how they feel about Marsh at this point

Obviously, I'm thrilled. While Asante's far from perfect, he's a great fit for what we're trying to do here. Nickle defense has been a massive issue for this team for quite some time, and this can only help.

The question now becomes, what do we do with our nickle situation? It's kind of Eagles-esque in that none of these guys are all that familiar with the position.

If it were my call, Dunta Robinson would move to the nickle. Grimes and Asante are both very good off man guys, so let them do their thing on the outside. Keeping Dunta on the inside will let him be more physical (while not having to worry as much about the deep ball) and snick his nose in the run game to compensate for Asante being an awful run defender.

Eagles reporting its just a 7th... Good trade for you falcons fans. I would've liked to get more in return, but I have a feeling the Eagles forced their hand too early and lost a lot of leverage. Teams knew he wasn't in their future plans, and only offered these types of deals. I still would have hoped for more than a 7th rounder, but its better than releasing him, which is what was bound to happen if he couldn't be traded. Now we have room to sign guys like Shady, Maclin and DRC if he performs well in his first year as a starter. Shady and Maclin are far more important to the team than Asante is, so if this enables them to get them on for long term deals, this makes sense.

They are going to say that, but he also didn't fit in with the press-man they wanted to implement. Those are the two biggest factors, and I'd say they were the majority, if not almost all, of the reason he was traded, and for so little. I'd bet he has about one good season in him yet before he starts really declining, the Eagles are great at knowing when to cut ties with veterans. But even one great season of CB play and however many average seasons the Falcons get out of him is worth a 7th rounder, IMO.

I understand that Nmandi and DRC both fit the scheme more, but both are overrated as hell.

Especially Nmandi. Asante Samuel is a better CB than Nmandi Asomugha. This was a mistake by Philly in the short term. Obviously if this means they can sign Maclin and Shady long term, then it's a great move.

But don't let them fool you, they could have signed both Maclin and Shady long term even if they kept Asante for another year. Trading him was irrelevant to anyone other than the owner who pockets that 10 mill, and the 7th rounder who gets selected by the Eagles.

I understand that Nmandi and DRC both fit the scheme more, but both are overrated as hell.

Especially Nmandi. Asante Samuel is a better CB than Nmandi Asomugha. This was a mistake by Philly in the short term. Obviously if this means they can sign Maclin and Shady long term, then it's a great move.

But don't let them fool you, they could have signed both Maclin and Shady long term even if they kept Asante for another year. Trading him was irrelevant to anyone other than the owner who pockets that 10 mill, and the 7th rounder who gets selected by the Eagles.

This tells me the eagles are looking to play a strictly man defense, the reason why Nnamdi and DRC looked so bad last year was because they were playing Nnamdi in zone for most of the year (he looked excellent once they realized how stupid that was) and DRC played mainly in the slot, which just isn't his strong suit. I don't think they're going to be the best duo in the league, but they should be more than formidable. Still, I was expecting more than a 7th round pick for Asante.